Wednesday, December 15, 2010

This Day in History - December 15

That's bandleader Glenn Miller and, if you're in the mood, read on.

37:  FUTURE EMPEROR NERO IS BORN.

Those childhood violin lessons didn't really pay off, did they?

533:  BYZANTINE GENERAL BELISARIUS DEFEATS THE VANDALS, COMMANDED BY KING GELIMER.

Vandals who may have spraypainted the castle walls.

1256:  HULAGU KHAN CAPTURES AND DESTROYS THE HASHSHASHIN STRONGHOLD AT ALAMUT IN PRESENT-DAY IRAN AS PART OF THE MONGOL OFFENSIVE ON ISLAMIC SOUTHWEST ASIA.

In their never-ending search for swords of mass destruction.

1863:  IN ROMANIA, THE MOUNTAIN RAILWAY FROM ANINA TO ORAVITA IS USED FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Anina, Oravita....and Cugamonga.

1890:  SIOUX NATION LEADER SITTING BULL DIES.

Now it's Lying-Stiff-As-A-Board Bull.

1891:  JAMES NAISMITH INTRODUCES THE FIRST VERSION OF BASKETBALL, WITH THIRTEEN RULES, A PEACH BASKET NAILED TO EITHER END OF HIS SCHOOL'S GYMNASIUM, AND TWO TEAMS OF NINE PLAYERS.

None of whom were sporting any body ink at the time.

1905:  THE PUSHKIN HOUSE IS ESTABLISHED IN ST. PETERSBURG TO PRESERVE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ALEXANDER PUSHKIN.

Long live bulletin boards.  No, wait.  Oh.  I thought it said push pin.  Never mind.

1919:  FARMER MAX YASGUR, OWNER OF THE WOODSTOCK ROCK CONCERT SITE, IS BORN.

And I bet he refused to clean up that mess.

1933:  COMEDIAN TIM CONWAY IS BORN.

So, if "McHale's Navy" was set in the 40s, that made him about 10 when he enlisted in the Navy.

1939:  "GONE WITH THE WIND" RECEIVES ITS PREMIERE AT LOEW'S GRAND THEATER IN ATLANTA.

Which future Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel was not allowed to attend because she was Black.  Nice going, Jim Crow.

1941:  THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR ADOPTS A NO-STRIKE POLICY IN WAR INDUSTRIES.

But it apparently was totally okay to hit the picket line if you were a Good Humor Man?

1944:  MUSICIAN GLENN MILLER DIES IN A PLANE CRASH.

They are listing it on this date, but apparently they don't really know.  The movie version has it happening on Christmas Day, but that was just an excuse to let June Allyson overact and shoot for an Oscar.

1946: BASEBALL MANAGER ART HOWE IS BORN.

One of the worst choices ever to be Met manager. Of course, that's before the latest fool they just picked.

1960:  RICHARD PAUL PAVLICK IS ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO BLOW UP AND ASSASSINATE US PRESIDENT-ELECT JOHN F. KENNEDY.

Had we been successful, Lee Harvey Oswald might be alive today.

1961:  IN JERUSALEM, ADOLPH EICHMANN IS SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF 15 CRIMINAL CHARGES AND WAR CRIMES AGAINST THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

Did this sentence actually get carried out?  Because I swear I saw him at LAX two weeks ago catching a flight to Bolivia.

1966:  WALT DISNEY DIES.

Move the Birds Eye vegetable bags.  I need to make room in the freezer.

1976:  SAMOA BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE UNITED NATIONS.

To honor the occasion, several Girl Scouts set up snack trays full of cookies outside.

1978:  PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ANNOUNCES THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL RECOGNIZE THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND CUT OFF ALL RELATIONS WITH TAIWAN.

The guy remains to this day one of the biggest idiots to ever sit in the White House.

2001:  THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA REOPENS AFTER 11 YEARS AND 27 MILLION DOLLARS TO FORTIFY IT WITHOUT FIXING ITS FAMOUS LEAN.

So what was the point?  I thought this was one of those "shovel ready" jobs.

Dinner last night:  Back in LA for the Clubhouse Salad at the Cheesecake Factory.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There's a rumor that Glenn Miller's plane was picking up booze when it met its fate.